An intruder into the home of a 43-year-old Indianapolis woman found out what it's like to come face to face with the pointy end of a sword. As it turned out, the home he was planning to burglarize belonged to a woman who had 10 years of combat training in medieval sword fighting.
Karen Dolley was fast asleep in her home when she heard someone breaking in. Standing at five foot six, Dolley was not a woman to back down without a fight and immediately confronted the intruder, delivering ten punches to back him into a corner as she reached for a personal firearm which she kept in a drawer.
Although in the heat of the moment, she opened up the wrong drawer, she didn't let that faze her. Immediately thinking of a backup plan, she reached instead for the next available weapon—a Japanese ninjato sword which she kept by her bed.
She held the intruder at sword-point in her bedroom as she called 911. The police arrived to save this damsel-not-so-in-distress within two minutes.
The intruder, who was identified as 30-year-old Jason Greenwood, certainly picked the wrong woman to mess with. Dolley revealed that as an 18-year-old, she used to engage in medieval-style duels and don full-on armor with rattan sticks in place of actual swords.
Sparring in these unchoreographed matches with men with 20 years of experience over her taught her valuable lessons in moving confidently and with aggression in a fight.
"I didn't think I was getting good blows in but my knuckles are bruised today. Hitting someone like that, it isn't like the movies. You're expecting it to be louder and see people jerk around, but that's not how it happens in real life," Dolley shared about her home intruder experience.
Experts say that Dolley was fortunate she had years of combat training and experience to back her up when she needed those potentially life-saving skills in a home invasion. However, they warn that average people should run first and get themselves out of harm's way when they find themselves in a dangerous situation. A gun, knife, stick or even a sword should only be turned to as a last resort when facing a home intruder.
Meanwhile, Dolley said she had no regrets over how she handled herself and was glad she didn't have to resort to anything more drastic even though she knew she was fully capable of doing more damage.
"At the end of the day, I'm glad to know that even if I wake up in the middle of the night, I'm not going down without a fight," she said.
Greenwood, who reportedly apologized to Dolley as he was escorted into custody was charged with the Level 6 felony of residential entry.
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